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SSA office increases space, efficiency
New site has 6 more workers, better service, manager says
Journal Photo by Jennifer Rotenizer
District manager Vernal Cooper says the office has better service.
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Published: August 20, 2008
There is finally space for file cabinets in the mail room to sit upright and plenty of room for customers to spread out in a light-filled waiting room.
The Social Security Administration's new Winston-Salem office offers clients more privacy, space and efficiency, said Vernal Cooper, the office's district manager. It also has six more employees.
"We're able to offer better service here because of the new space," Cooper said.
More room means more employees, more room for files and a more modern, streamlined look for the agency, she said.
The agency moved into the new office at 1370 Lockland Ave. last month, but it will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours this morning at 10:30.
The agency was on University Parkway for 10 years, Cooper said. The old space had 10,000 square feet; the agency now has more than 16,000 square feet.
An average of 230 people a day have been coming through the office, Cooper said, but she would like to serve more people.
"We want them to know we're here," she said. "A lot of the public still doesn't know where we are."
The agency serves Stokes, Yadkin and Forsyth counties, Cooper said. The new office is also attracting a lot of people from Davidson County, who find it easier to hop on U.S. 52 than to go to the Social Security branch in Salisbury.
The new office also has a larger waiting area. The old space felt crowded when 50 people were there, Cooper said. The new space can hold 90 people comfortably.
Instead of talking to clients at their desks, staff members can serve them at one of 22 windows, allowing for quicker service, Cooper said. The old office offered only five windows, and all other interviews had to be conducted at staff members' desks.
When people enter the new office, they are directed to a check-in computer where they can enter the reason for their visit, Cooper said. They receive a ticket where they are assigned a number, which is called over a paging system.
Mayor Allen Joines said he hopes that people will find that the new office meets their needs.
"Certainly, as we have a graying of America, there'll be more demands on an agency like this," he said. "So it's good that they feel like they'll able to address those growing needs."
■ Mary Giunca can be reached at 727-4089 or at mgiunca@wsjournal.com.
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